Weekly Commentary with New Orleans Magazine’s Errol Laborde

4 Answers to the Argument:

"Why do whites want reform now that blacks are in power, yet they never worried about it when they were in power?"

Errol Laborde

I know that hardly anyone, black or white, really believes this argument, yet it surfaces from time to time, as it has over the recent City Hall transparency veto flap. The argument is especially popular among those who have the most to lose because of reform. Since the question is not likely to go away soon, here are some answers to consider.

4. Back when white people were in power other white folks were checking on them too. During the era of machine politics there was a good government element that looked suspiciously at the (all-white) machine bosses. One reason New Orleans still has so many independent boards was because of machine era reforms to weaken the power of the machines. Civil service reform began as a way of curtailing the arbitrary hiring power of the old bosses. Whites were thrown in jail too, most notably Governor Richard Leche and some of his cronies. As Huey Long lay dying from an assassin's bullet, he supposedly lamented that without him to control his followers they would all wind up in jail - some did. Former State President Michael O'Keefe, once the most powerful of legislators, is now serving his second term in the federal prison, and Edwin Edwards, the person who served the most terms as governor, is counting the remaining days of a 10- year sentence. Legitimate concern over the accumulation of political power knows no racial boundaries.

3. Blacks being in power is hardly novel. Dutch Morial, the city's first black mayor, took office in 1978 (31 years ago); a black majority city council soon followed, so any effort at reform is not a sudden reaction against blacks.

2. If there is a new wave of reform, it has nothing to do with race, but rather the post-Katrina mood to fix the things that are wrong with the city. We've rebuilt the levee board system and streamlined the assessors' office all to make government more efficient. Education is improving partially because of the number of new charter schools. Those schools are reaching children across the spectrum and giving them opportunities, yet, pre-Katrina, efforts to establish charter schools were sometimes criticized as being racist because they weakened the then-black majority school board. Now more people than ever, of all races, can have a say in planning their area school. Despite the racial arguments, charter schools have empowered people, not taken power away.

1. Where there is waste in government, the most tragic victims are the ones who need government services the most, and that is usually the poor. Those are the same people who are most exploited by the racial arguments. That's not just a sin against race; it is a sin against democracy.

Let us know what you think. Any comments about this article? Write to errol@renpubllc.com. For the subject line use ARGUMENTS. All responses are subject to being published, as edited, in this newsletter. Please include your name and location.

Krewe: The Early New Orleans Carnival- Comus to Zulu by Errol Laborde is available at all area bookstores. Books can also be ordered via E- mail at gdkrewe@aol.com or (504) 895-2266.

Weekly Commentary with New Orleans Magazine’s Errol Laborde

about

Errol Laborde holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of New Orleans and is the editor-in-chief of Renaissance Publishing. In that capacity he serves as editor/associate publisher of New Orleans Magazine and editor/publisher of Louisiana Life magazine.

Errol is also a producer and a regular panelist on Informed Sources, a weekly news discussion program broadcast on public television station WYES-TV, Channel 12. Errol is a three-time winner of the Alex Waller Award, the highest award given in print journalism by the Press Club of New Orleans. He also received the National and City Regional Magazine Association Award for Best Column for his New Orleans Magazine column, beating out 76 city magazines across the country. In 2013, Errol received the award for the "Best News Affiliated Blog," awarded by the Press Club of New Orleans.

Errol’s most recent books are Krewe: The Early Carnival from Comus to Zulu and Marched the Day God: A History of the Rex Organization. In his free time he enjoys playing tennis and traveling with his wife, Peggy, to anywhere they can get away to, but some of his favorite spots are the Caribbean and historic locations around Louisiana. You can reach Errol at (504) 830-7235 or errol@myneworleans.com.